World's Most Dangerous Airports

Princess Juliana International Airport (Saint Martin)

Princess Juliana International Airport serves Saint Maarten, the Dutch part of the island of Saint Martin. It is the second busiest airport in the Eastern Caribbean. The airport is famous for its short landing strip — only 2,180 metres/7,152 ft, which is barely enough for heavy jets. Because of this, the planes approach the island flying extremely low, right over Maho Beach. Countless photos of large jets flying at 10--20 m/30-60 ft over relaxing tourists at the beach have been dismissed as fakes many times, but are nevertheless real. For this reason as well it has become a favourite for planespotters. Despite the difficulties in approach, there has been no records of major aviation incidents at the airport.

Juancho E. Yrausquin Airport (Saba)

Juancho E. Yrausquin Airport is the only airport on the Caribbean island of Saba, in the Netherlands Antilles. It is well known among experienced fliers for the way in which airplanes must approach or take off from the airport.

Yrausquin Airport covers a relatively large portion of the small island of Saba. Some aviation experts are of the general opinion that the airport is one of the most dangerous in the world, despite the fact that no major tragedies have happened at the facility. The airport's sole runway is marked with an X at each end, to indicate to commercial pilots that the airport is closed for commercial aviation.

The danger arises from the airport's physical position. It is flanked on one side by high hills, and on the other side and at both ends of the runway by cliffs dropping into the sea. This creates the possibility that an airplane might overshoot the runway during landing or takeoff and end up in the sea or on the cliffs.

Courchevel (France)

Courchevel is the name of a ski area located in the French Alps, the largest linked ski area in the world. It's airport has a certain degree of infamy in the aviation industry as home to a relatively short runway, with a length of 525 m (1,722 ft) and a gradient of 18.5%. It's so short that you have to land on an inclined strip to slow down and take off on a decline to pick up enough speed.

Who gets to land here? Well, Pierce Brosnan made the short list. This was the airport used in the opening seen of Tomorrow Never Dies. For the rest of us, private plane, helicopter, or charter are the only ways to go, and your pilot is going to need some serious training before he or she is allowed to land at CVF.

Gustaf III Airport (St. Bart)

Gustaf III Airport also known as Saint Barthélemy Airport is a public use airport located in the village of St. Jean on the Caribbean island of Saint Barthélemy. Both the airport and the island's main town of Gustavia are named for King Gustav III of Sweden, under whom Sweden obtained the island from France in 1785 (it was sold back to France in 1878). The airport is served by small regional commercial aircraft and charters. Most visiting aircr aft carry fewer than twenty passengers, such as the Twin Otter, a common sight around Saint Barth and throughout the northern West Indies. The short airstrip is at the base of a gentle slope ending directly on the beach. The arrival descent is extremely steep over the hilltop traffic circle and departing planes fly right over the heads of sunbathers (although small signs advise sunbathers not to lie directly at the end of the runway).

Barra International Airport (Barra)

Barra Airport is the only airport in the world where planes land on the beach. BRR is situated in on the wide beach of Traigh Mhor, on Barra island, in the Outer Hebrides, Scotland. If you want to fly here commercially you will want to book with British Airways, which flies to Barra from Glasgow and Benbecula.

The airport is literally washed away by the tide once a day, and if you arrive on a late afternoon flight, you may notice a couple of cars in the parking lot with their lights on, which provides pilots some added visibility, since the airport is naturally lit. Needless to say you probably don't want to hang out at Barra Airport beach, unless you are a aviation junkie, in which case Barra Airport has a fool proof system, as sign that reads: "Keep off the beach. When the windsock is flying and the airport is active."

Madeira Airport (Madeira)

Madeira Airport also known as Funchal Airport and Santa Catarina Airport, is an international airport located near Funchal, Madeira. The airport controls national and international air traffic of the island of Madeira.

The airport was once infamous for its short runway which, surrounded by high mountains and the ocean, made it a tricky landing for even the most experienced of pilots. The original runway was only 1,400 metres in length, but was extended by 400 metres after the TAP Air Portugal Flight 425 incident of 1977 and subsequently rebuilt in 2003, almost doubling the size of the runway, building it out over the ocean. Instead of using landfill, the extension was built on a series of 180 columns, each being about 70m tall.

For the enlargement of the new runway the Funchal Airport has won the Outstanding Structures Award, given by International Association for Bridge and Structural Engineering (IABSE). The Outstanding Structures Award is considered to be the "Oscar" for engineering structures in Portugal.

Lukla Airport (Nepal)

A huge mountain on one end, a thousand meter drop on the other. And it's at 2900 meters elevation, so you don't exactly have full power.

Sumber artikel : http://www.oddee.com/item_93109.aspx
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Teladan Daripada Kisah Mustapha Kamal Ataturk - Mati tak diterima bumi (3)

Antara syarat yang dikenakan oleh Mustapha Kamal Attaturk (bekas PM Turki) :-

1. Membolehkan perempuan memakai tudung dengan syarat pakai skirt.
2. Membolehkan lelaki memakai seluar panjang dengan syarat pakai tali leher dan topi(sesuai dengan kehendak barat).
3. Menyuruh wanita dan lelaki menari di khalayak ramai. Beliau sendiri pernah menari dengan seorang wanita di satu parti umum yang pertama di Ankara.
4. Beliau pernah menegaskan bahawa "negara tidak akan maju kalau rakyatnya tidak cenderung kepada pakaian moden."
5. Menggalakkan minum arak secara terbuka.
6. Mengarahkan Al-Quran dicetak dalam bahasa Turki.
7. Menukar azan ke dalam bahasa Turki. Bahasa Turki sendiri diubah dengan membuang unsur-unsur Arab dan Parsi.
8. Mengambil arkitek- arkitek dari luar negara untuk memodenkan Turki. Hakikatnya mereka diarah mengukir patung-patung dan tugu-tugunya di seluruh bandar Turki.
9. Satu ucapan beliau di bandar Belikesir di mana beliau dengan terang-terangannya mengatakan bahawa agama harus dipisahkan dengan urusan harian dan perlu dihapuskan untuk kemajuan.
10. Agama Islam juga di buang sebagai Agama Rasmi negara.
11. Menyerang Islam secara terbuka dan terang-terangan.
12. Menggubal undang-undang perkahwinan berdaftar berdasarkan undang-undang barat.
13. Menukar Masjid Ayasophia kepada muzium, ada sesetengah masjid dijadikan gereja.
14. Menutup masjid serta melarang dari bersembahyang berjemaah.
15. Menghapuskan Kementerian Wakaf dan membiarkan anak-anak yatim dan fakir miskin.
16. Membatalkan undang-undang waris, faraid secara islam.
17. Menghapus penggunaan kalendar Islam dan menukarkan huruf Arab kepada huruf Latin.
18. Mengganggap dirinya tuhan sama seperti firaun. Berlaku peristiwa apabila salah seorang askarnya ditanya "siapa tuhan dan di mana tuhan > tinggal?" oleh kerana takut, askar tersebut menjawab 'Kamal Atartuk adalah tuhan" beliau tersenyum dan bangga dengan jawapan yang diberikan oleh askar itu.

Kematian Kamal Atartuk Yang Menyeksakan

Di saat kematiannya, Allah telah datangkan beberapa penyakit kepada beliau sehingga beliau rasa terseksa dan tak dapat menanggung seksaan dan azab yang Allah berikan di dunia.

Antaranya ialah :

1. Didatangkan penyakit kulit hingga ke kaki dimana beliau merasa gatal-gatal seluruh badan.
2. Sakit jantung.
3. Penyakit darah tinggi.
4. Panas sepanjang masa, tidak pernah merasa sejuk sehingga terpaksa diarahkan kepada bomba untuk menyiram rumahnya 24 jam.
Pembantu-pembantunya juga diarahkan untuk meletak ketulan-ketulan ais di dalam selimut untuk menyejukkan beliau.
Maha suci Allah, buat macam mana pun rasa panas tak hilang-hilang. Oleh kerana tidak tahan dengan kepanasan yang ditanggung, beliau menjerit sehingga seluruh istana mendengar jeritan itu.

Oleh kerana tidak tahan mendengar jeritan, mereka-mereka yang bertanggung jawab telah menghantar beliau ke tengah lautan dan diletakkan dalam bot dengan harapan beliau akan merasa sejuk.Allah itu Maha Besar, panasnya tak jugak hilang! Pada 26 september 1938, beliau pengsan selama 48 jam disebabkan terlalu panas dan sedar selepas itu tetapi beliau hilang ingatan.

Pada 9 November 1938, beliau pengsan sekali lagi selama 36 jam dan akhirnya meninggal dunia. Sewaktu beliau meninggal, tidak seorang pun yang memandi, mengkafan dan menyembahyangkan mayat beliau.Mayatnya diawetkan selama 9 hari 9 malam, sehingga adik perempuan beliau datang meminta ulama-ulama Turki memandikan, mengkafankan dan menyembahyangkannya.
Tidak cukup dari itu, Allah tunjukkan lagi balasan azab ketika mayatnya di bawa ke tanah perkuburan. Bila mayatnya hendak ditanam, tanah tidak menerimanya (tak dapat nak bayangkan bagaimana tanah tidak menerimanya).

Disebabkan putus asa, mayatnya diawetkan sekali lagi dan dimasukkan ke dalam muzium yang diberi nama EtnaGrafi (kalau tak silap dengar) selama 15 tahun sehingga tahun 1953). Selepas 15 tahun mayatnya hendak ditanam semula, tapi Allah Maha Agung, bumi sekali lagi tak menerimanya. Habis ikhtiar, mayatnya dibawa pula ke satu bukit ditanam dalam satu binaan marmar beratnya 44 tan.
Mayatnya ditanam di celah-celah batu marmar. Apa yang menyedihkan, ulama-ulama sezaman dengan Kamal Atartuk telah mengatakan bahawa jangan kata bumi Turki, seluruh bumi Allah ini tidak menerima Kamal Atartuk

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Teladan Daripada Kisah Mustapha Kamal Ataturk - Mati tak diterima bumi (2)

Dalam episod ini terserlahlah kebolehan Ataturk pada pandangan orang islam. Ataturk adalah seorang lelaki yang tidak ada tolok bandingnya bagi Inggeris. Beliau telah meruntuhkan kesucian Islam (lebih-lebih lagi peradabannya) dalam masa satu hari sahaja sedangkan pihak Inggeris sendiri tidak mampu untuk melakukannya walaupun setahun. Apabila Inggeris berasa yakin dengan keupayaan dan kekuasaan Ataturk, mereka melantknya menjadi ketua kerajaan boneka tersebut dan sesudah itu mereka pun ke luar dari negara kami."

Sesungguhnya pembubaran Sistem Khilafah Islamiah merupakan titik tolak dalam urutan strategi yang didokong oleh Ataturk demi untuk memisahkan agama Islam daripada sistem pemerintahan di Turki dan meminggirkan Islam daripada aspek kehidupan.

Ataturk melarang pakaian-pakaian Islam sebaliknya mewajibkan pemakaian fesyen-fesyen Barat. Dala tempoh beberapa tahun sahaja, beliau telah berjaya menghapuskan perayaan Hari Raya Aidilfitri dan Hari Raya Aidil-adha serta melarang orang islam mengerjakan Ibadah Haji.

Beliau turut menutup beberapa buah masjid , umpamanya, mengubah Masjid Besar Aya Sofea menjadi sebuah gereja dan selepas itu mendikan sebuah gedung.

Dalam urusan munakahat, belaiu melarang poligami dan membenarkan perkahwinan wanita Islam dengan bukan Islam. Beliau membatalkan cuti hari Jumaat, melarangkan azan dalam Bahasa Arab dengan menukarkannya kepada Bahasa Turki.

Disamping itu, belau turut menghapuskan penggunaan huruf-huruf Arab dalam penulisan dan menukarkannya kepada huruf Latin.

Tindakan yang dilakukan oleh Ataturk ini nyata sekali telah memisahkan budaya Turki daripada akar umbi agama Islam dan menghapuskan satu peruntukan yang termaktub dalam Perlembagaan Turki iaitu agama Islam sebagi agama rasmi negara Turki. Ataturk berusaha dan berkerja keras untuk menghapuskan para penentangnya. Belai membakar akhbar-akhbar, menangkap ketua-ketua pengarang akhbar dan juga mengawasi para ulama. Ataturk juga telah mengasaskan Parti rakyat Republikan pada tahun 1342H (1923M) dan menjadikan presidentnya sehinggalah belaiu meninggal dunia pada tahun 1357H (1938M).


Mustapha Kamal & Isteri

Ataturk hidup tanpa isteri dan anak-anak. Isterinya bernama latifah hanim hanya mampu tinggal bersamanya selama setahun sahaja kerana tidak tahan denagn kefasikan Ataturk. Kediamannya dipenuhi dengan segala macam kemungkaran daripada arak sehinggalah wanita. Ketika Ataturk terlantar menunggu saat kematiannya, beliau begitu takut jika tidak ada orang yang dapat mengantikannya dan mampu meneruskan apa yang telah dilakukannya sebelum ini. Lalu beliau memanggil Duta Britain di Turki,Bercy Lorren ke kediamnya di Istanbul meminta duta tersebut menggantikannya sebagai presiden. Ataturk mempunyai kuasa untuk memilih pengganti sebelum beliau mati, tetapi duta tersebut menolak permintaan Ataturk.

Mustafa Kamal dikebumikan dalam keranda timah setelah disembahyangkan di istana presiden yang dihadiri oleh beberapa orang pemimin kanannya yang saling bercanggah pendapat sama ada patut atau tidak belaiu disembahyangkan. Jenazahnya kemudian di bawa ke Ankara dalam upacara rasmi. Jawatan presiden kemudianya disandang oleh rakan Ataturk, Esmat Enunu pada tahun 1357H (1937M).
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Teladan Daripada Kisah Mustapha Kamal Ataturk - Mati tak diterima bumi

SEJARAH KAMAL ATATURK

Beliau dilahirkan pada tahun 1299H (1880M) di bandar salonika, Greek yang ketika itu merupakan taklukan Khilafah Uthmaniyyah. Bapanya bernama Ali Reda Afandi, berkerja sebagai pengawal di jabatan Kastam. Ada yang mengatakan belaiu ialah bapa tiri Ataturk dan bukan bapa kandungnya. . Ada juga yang mengatakan Ataturk oleh Guru matematiknya yang bernama Mustafa. Mustafa bertugas di sekolah Ataturk iaitu sebuah sekolah menengah tentera dan pada ketika itulah beliau tertarik dengan kebolehan Ataturk dalam bidang matematik lalu mencadangkan nama Mustafa Kamal.

H.S. Armstrong, salah seorang pembantu Ataturk dalam bukunya yang berjudul al-Zi'bu al-Aghbar atau al-Hayah al- Khasah li taghiyyah telah menulis:

'Sesungguhnya Ataturk adalah daripada keturunan Yahudi. nenek moyangnya adalah Yahudi yang berpindah dari Sepanyol ke bandar Salonika.'

Golongan Yahudi ini dinamakan dengan Yahudi Daunamah yang terdiri daripada 600 buah keluarga. Mereka mendakwa memeluk Islam pada tahun 1095H (1683M), tetapi masih menganut agama Yahudi secara senyap-senyap. Ini diakui sendiri oleh bekas Presiden Israel, Yitzak Zifi, dalam bukunya Daunamah terbitan tahun 1377H (1957M):

Ada kumpulan-kumpulan agama yang masih menganggap diri mereka sebahagian daripada Nabi Israel...... Antara mereka ada satu kumpulan iaitu kumpulan Daunamah yang Islam hanya pada zahir tetapi mengamalkan ajaran Yahudi secara senyap-senyap.

Ketika Mustafa kamal mencapai usia 12 tahun, beliau memasuki Sekolah Tentera Salonika. Kemudian beliau menyambung pelajaran di Akademi Tentera Monasitar pada tahun 1302H (1885M). Pada tahun 1322H (1905M), beliau memasuki kolej tentera di Istanbul dan menamatkan latihan ketenteraannya pada tahun 1325H. (1907M). Kemudiannya, belaiu telah ditugaskan di Kem Tentera Batalion ketiga di Salonika.

Disini bermulanya usaha Ataturk dalam memusuhi Khalifah Uthmaniyyah dan agama islam. Dengan kedudukannya sebagai graduan kolej tentera, beliau telah mengigatkan rakan-rakan pegawainya agar tidak tertipu dengan pemikiran dunia Islam.

Beliau telah mengubah ucapan Assalaualakum kepada Marhaban Bikum (Selamat Datang). Tindakan belaiu selanjutnya ialah menubuhkan Pertubuhan Kebagsaan dan Kebebasan yang bertujuan untuk menghapuskan Kerajaan Uthmaniyyah yang menurutnya mengamlkan pemerintahan kuku besi,tetapi malangnya Pertubuhan Bersatu dan Maju yang ketika itu juga bergiat cerdas menentang pemerintahan Islam telah menjadi batu penghalang kepada pengerakan Ataturk ini.

Imej Mustakam Kamal menonjol selepas meletusnya Perang Dunia Pertama apabila beliau dipilih sebagai panglima pasukan ke -19 di Sinaq Qal'ah. Pasukannya dapat mengalahkan tentera British sebanyak dua kali di Semanjung Ghalibuli di Balkan Darnadil mestkipun kekuatan tentera British mampu mengalahkan tentera Artaturk. Dengan kemenangan tersebut, Ataturk telah dinaikkan pangkat kapten dan kemudiannya jeneral pada tahun 1335H.(1916M).

Pada hakikatnya, kemenangan yang dicapai oleh Mustafa kamal adalah kemenangan yang disengajakan dirancangkan oleh tentera Inggeris supaya reputasi Ataturk dipandang tinggi oleh Kerajaan Uthmaniyyah. Ini kerana peperangan di antara tentera Uthmaniyyah dengan tentera bersekutu berlanjutan selama beberapa hari tanpa mana-mana pihak mencapai sebarang kemenangan sehingga menyebabkan kedua-dua belah pihak bertahan dikawasan masing-masing untuk beberapa bulan. Akirnya pihak Inggeris secara mengejut tanpa disangka-sangka telah meninggalkan kawasan pantai Ghalibuli. Pada tahun 1337H (1918M), Ataturk telah mengetuai satu pasukan tentera di Palestin. Beliau telah menghentikan peperangan terhadap Inggeris, musuh Kerajaan Kerajaan Uthmaniyyah secara mengejut dan membenarkan Inggeris mara ke sebelah utara tanpa mendapat sebarang tentangan. Ketika itulah ia mengadu jatuh sakit dan telantar di di Kem Nablus. Tindakannya itu telah menimbulkan pelbagai spekualasi dan tanda tanya, lantas beliau membawa pasukan tenteranya ke utara sehingga ke Damsyik. Di sana, beliau telah mengeluarkan perintah supaya menghentikan tentangan terhadap Inggeris sekaligus membuka peluang kepada Inggeris untuk mara ke wilayah-wilayah Uthmaniyyah.

Selepas kekalahan Turki dan perisytiharan gencatan senjata, Inggeris meminta khalifah membubarkan Dewan Rakyat yang berkuasa menentukan kekuasaan khalifah. Selepas pembubaran itu, Inggeris mencetuskan pula huru hara dalam istana Kerajaan Uthmaniyyah sepanjang tempoh dua tahun 1337 - 1338H (1918-1919M) dan meminta khalifah menghentikan angkara yang sengaja mereka rancangkan itu. Mereka kemudian mencadangkan Mustafa Kamal untuk memikul tugas tersebut. Ini supaya Mustafa dapat menjadi orang yang berupaya memenuhi aspirasi rakyat dan satu-satunya pegawai tinggi tentera yang layak mendapat penghargaan daripada pihak tentera.

Kedudukkan dan kehebatan Mustafa kamal kini kian terserlah di mata orang ramai, manakala reputasi institusi khalifah pula semakin menurun. Pada waktu yang sama beliau telah merealisasikan perancangan Pihak Bersekutu untuk menguasai wilayah-wilayah Kerajaan Uthmaniyyah.

Taktik yang digunakan oleh Inggeris untuk menjayakan rancangan tersebut ialah dengan membebaskan Greek daripada penguasaan Izmir dan ini terang-terang bercanggah dengan teks perjanjian yang telah dimenteraikan oleh Pihak Bersekutu. Semua ini berjalan dengan pantas sekali apabila tentera Greek melepaskan tembakan kepada orang islam Turki di jalan-jalanraya, memaksa mereka menaggalkan tarbus yang kemudian dipijak-pijak dengan kaki, menaggalkan purdah yang dipakai oleh wanita Muslim, membakar perkampungan Islam di Izmir dan menyembelih orang Islam tanpa belas kasihan.

Di tengah-tengah kegawatan tersebut, kapal Ainabuli telah berlabuh di perairan Izmir di tengah-tengah armada laut Inggeris dan Greek, lalu Ataturk menuju ke Izmir dan mengerah segala keupayaannya dan memperlihatkan modus operandi yang menyakinkan dalam menentang Greek.

Ataturk mengutus telegram kepada khalifah untuk menjelaskan keadaan yang genting ini. Akan tetapi kerajaan mendesak beliau pulang untuk mengelakkan belaiu daripada terus menibulkan huru-hara. Khalifah cuba memujuk Ataturk tetapi belaiu tetap enggan pulang malahan menghantarkan telegram kepada baginda, "Saya akan tinggal di anadul sehingga kemerdekaan dapat dicapai."

Ataturk mula melancarkan revolusi yang disokong sepenuhnya oleh Inggeris dan beliau telah berjaya pada peringat permulaan. Ini berlaku apabila gerakan belaiu telah diserati oleh para pemimpin muda dan pemikir-pemikir yang meletakkan syarat agar tidak membabitkan khalifah.

Pertempuran di antara tentera Uthmaniyah dengan Greek telah berlanjutan selama satu setengah tahun. Semasa pertempuran sedang berlaku, Pihak Bersekutu telah mengumumkan bahawa mereka berkecuali. Sungguh menghairankan kerana senjata-senjata yang dibelakkan kepada Mustafa Kamal adalah dari Rusia hasil perancangan rapi pihak Inggeris di Busfor sekalipun Rusia memang memusuhi Kerajaan Uthmaniyyah.

Pada 23 Mac 1921M (1340H), tentera Greek mencetuskan kembali api peperangan. Pada bulan September tahun yang sama, pertempuran di antara kedua-dua belah pihak terhenti apabila Greek menarik keluar tenteranya dari Izmir. Dua hari selepas itu, tentera-tentera Uthmaniyyah mula memasuki Izmir tanpa menggunakan sebarang kekerasan.

Propaganda Barat telah membesar-besarkan kemenangan pimpinan Mustafa Kamal ini dan menyebarkannya dengan cepat ke negara-negara Islam. Orang islam telah tertipu dengan tindakkan Mustafa yang berjaya memenuhi aspirasi mereka sehinggakan Ahmad Shauqi pernah memuji belaiu melalui sebuah qasidah yang mengumpamakan Ataturk seperti Khalid bin al-Walid.

Maha Besar Allah betapa kemenangan yang penuh keajaiban, Khalid Turki hidupkanlah kembali, Khalid Arab.

Malangnya impian mereka yang tertipu dengan tindakan Mustafa tidak tercapai kerana 3 Mac 1343H (1924M)., tersiar berita tentang pembubaran Kerajaan Khalifah. Khalifah dan kerabat diraja telah dihalau keluar dari negara Turki, manakala dua buah kementerian iaitu Kementerian Wakaf dan Kementerian Undang-undang Syari'ah telah dimansuhkan. Sekolah-sekolah agama telah ditukar menjadi sekolah-sekolah awam.

Musuh-musuh Islam melihat bahawa penghapusan Khilafah Islamiah bukanlah suatu perkara mudah. Ia hanya akan tercapai dengan cara menonjolkan seorang wira yang agung dan Mustafa merupakan orang yang digelar wira tersebut.

Pihak Inggeris telah melaksanakan rancangan ini bersama-sama Mustafa Kamal sendiri. Mereka juga telah membebaskan Greek dari Izmir dengan mendakwa Mustafa adalah pahlawan sebenar yang menjayakan kemenangan tersebut. Seluruh rakyat mula mempercayai perkara ini dan bagi Inggeris inilah masa yang paling sesuai untuk memasukkan jarumnya bagi menghancurkan Islam.

Sungguh menghairankan, cara ini masih tetap digunakan oleh musuh-musuh Islam untuk menlancarkan serangan terhadap islam sehingga hari ini.

Inggeris mengiktiraf kemerdekaan Turki dan mengundarkan tenteranya apabila Ataturk membubarkan pemerintahaan khalifah. Pernah seorang ahli Parlimen Inggeris menyoal Lord Carrizon (Menteri Luar British ketika itu) dalam Dewan Parlimen Britain tentang pengiktirafan kemerdekaan Turki. Lord Carrizon membalas, "Apa yang berlaku ialah Turki telah dikuasai tanpa sebarang tentangan kerana kita telah menguasai kekuatan spiritualnya iaitu Sistem khilafah Islam". Syeikhul Islam, Mustafa sabri selepas melarikan diri ke Mesir pernah berkata, Memang mudah sekali Inggeris menjadikan Mustafa Kamal sebagai wira pada saat mereka menekan Khalifah dang mengulingkan baginda.

Sumber artikel : http://eforum1.cari.com.my/viewthread.php?tid=475355

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Khasiat Kulit Kayu Manis

Kulit kayu manis adalah antara rempah yang biasa digunakan dalam masakan Melayu. Ia mempunyai khasiat yang sangat tinggi dalam pengubatan tradisi beberapa jenis penyakit disamping boleh juga digunakan sebagai pengawet semulajadi. Aromanya dapat merangsang minda termasuk daya kognitif seseorang. Menambahkan rempah kulit kayu manis ke dalam makanan tinggi karbohidrat dapat mengurangkan kesan kandungan gulanya ke atas darah anda dan ini bagus untuk penghidap penyakit kencing manis.
Kulit kayu manis dari segi saintifiknya dikenali dengan nama Cinnamomum zeylanicum dan berasal dari keluarga Lauracea. Ia berfungsi memanas dan mengering, dari itu sesuai diamalkan bagi megubati selesema serta melancarkan pengaliran darah. Ia dikunyah bagi mengeringkan hingus. Amalan membancuh susu yang dicampur dengan sedikit serbuk kulit kayu manis juga berkesan untuk meredakan sakit itu.
Kesannya lebih lembut daripada halia tetapi tindakannya lebih keras. Kedua-dua herba itu seringkali direbus bersama-sama bagi menghasilkan minuman yang melegakan bagi mengatasi masalah lenguh-lenguh badan, terutamanya dibahagian kaki, tangan, lutut dan pinggang berpunca daripada kesejukkan.
Air rebusan kulit kayu manis dan halia juga sesuai diamalkan oleh kaum wanita yang sering mengalami senggugut atau kesakitan dibahagian ari-ari dan kaki. Disamping itu ia juga boleh digunakan untuk berkumur untuk mengubati sakit gusi dan juga menghilangkan masalah pernafasan berbau.
Banyak di kalangan pakar pemakanan membicarakan tentang kulit kayu manis yang dikatakan boleh membantu mengurangkan glukos dalam darah dan kolestrol bagi pengidap diabetes. Beberapa penemuan di Pakistan menunjukkan tahap rendah glukos, triglyceride, kolestrol LDL dan jumlah keseluruhan kolestrol menurun selepas pengambilan selama 40 hari dan terus menurun selepas 20 hari tambahan kemudian. Kajian tersebut membabitkan 60 orang pesakit diabetes jenis 2 dibahagikan dalam 6 kumpulan dengan 10 orang setiap kumpulan. 3 kumpulan mengambil kulit kayu manis jenis cassia dalam bentuk kapsul 1, 3 atau 6 gm sehari. 3 kumpulan lain mengambil kapsul placebo. Kapsul berkenaan diambil 3 kali sehari selepas makan. Kumpulan yang mengambil kulit kayu manis menunjukkan hasil dan disimpulkan pengambilan 1gm kulit kayu manis sehari akan membantu pengidap diabetes jenis 2.

Saya sendiri mencuba dengan merendam kulit kayu manis dan minum air rendaman dengan dicampur madu iran ternyata gula dalam darah saya menurun .Tidak lagi ditemui lagi terdapatkah kesan sampingan. Walau bagaimanapun bahan ini telah lama digunakan oleh kita dalam masakan.
Kulit kayu manis in terbahagi kepada dua iaitu kulit kayu manis jenis zeylanicum dan jenis cassia (yang banyak dijual di Negara kita ialah jenis cassia).

Mengikut pakar komponen aktif terdapat dalam kulit kayu manis bahagian yang larut air tetapi tidak dalam minyak kayu manis yang larut lemak.

Sebab itulah abuyya lebih suka gunakan kulit kayu manis dalam bentuk cecair bukan yang dikisar kerana bimbang jenis kisaran bukan semuanya larut air yang dalam jangka masa panjang boleh memudaratkan buah pinggang. Sebenarnya kulit kayu manis gemar digunakan dalam tea arab malah boleh dicampurkan dalam juice epal, oren dll bagi menyedapkan rasanya.

Kulit kayu manis juga merupakan pemanas badan. Minyaknya sebagai penawar untuk menghapuskan rasa tidak hadam. Ia merupakan campuran (rempah ratus) yang digunakan dalam resepi masakan hampir tiga suku penduduk dunia.
Ingin menghilangkan parut dikulit. Cubalah kaedah orang lama. Tumbuk lumat kulit kayu manis. Campurkan serbuk ini dengan sedikit air kemudian bancuhkan dengan bedak sejuk. Kemudian sapukan pada tempat yang berparut. Lakukan sekerap mungkin dan lama kelamaan parut tersebut akan beransur hilang. Petua ini juga sesuai untuk menghilangkan bintik-bintik hitam dan jerawat diwajah.

Para saintis telah mendapati kulit kayu manis mempunyai sifat ala-insulin, yang boleh mengurangkan paras glukosa darah dan juga triglyceride dan kolesterol, semuanya penting terutamanya kepada pesakit kencing manis diabetes type II.

Dengan hanya setengah sudu teh serbuk kulit kayu manis setiap hari diambil dalam pemakanan harian , pesakit kencing manis boleh mengurangkan paras glukosa darah. Kesan yang sama juga boleh diperolehi dengan merendamkan batang kulit kayu manis ke dalam minuman teh atau kopi yang boleh membantu menghalang dan melawan kencing manis.

Para saintis mendapati bahawa kesan ala-insulin dari kulit kayu manis dan bahan aktifnya, poliphenol boleh melonjakkan paras tiga protin utama. Protin berkenaan sangat penting mengalukan proses isyarat-insulin normal, gerakbalas radangan yang sihat dan pengangkutan glukosa berkesan ke seluruh anggota badan.

Keluran akhbar dari University of California at Santa Barbara pada April, 2004 menyatakan kulit kayu manis boleh digunakan dalam perubatan untuk melawan diabetes. Kulit kayu manis boleh memainkan peranan pengganti insulin dalam diabetes type 2, dari kajian selular dan molekular di universiti berkenaan. Kulit kayu manis mempunyai komponen aktif-bio yang berpotensi menghalang dan mengubati kencing manis.

Kajian klinikal telah dijalankan di Pakistan di mana 60 orang sukarelawan kajian dengan diberi sebuk kulit kayu manis satu sudu teh setiap hari selama40 hari. Hasil kajian ini telah menunjukkan bahawa kulit kayu manis boleh mengurangkan paras glukosa darah dengan bekesan.

Dalam Medical News 09 Apr 2006 dua kajian yang dibentangkan dalam persidangan Experimental Biology 2006 menerangkan lagi kesan manfaat kulit kayu manis sebagai agen anti-radangan dan menyokong kajian awal mengenai kuasa agen anti-oksida dan agen yang boleh mengurangkan kolesterol, triglyceride, dan glukosa dan meningkatkan fungsi insulin.

Sumber: Khasiat Kayu Manis | MalaysiaSensasi.Net

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What is Polaris???

Polaris -- Polaris, Alpha Ursae Minoris, is the bright star closest to the north celestial pole. It is also known as the North Star, the Lode Star, or the Pole star.

Because it lies nearly in a direct line with the axis of the Earth's rotation "above" the North Pole -- the north celestial pole -- Polaris is apparently motionless from the Earth, and all the stars of the Northern sky appear to rotate around it.

Therefore, it makes an excellent fixed point from which to draw measurements for celestial navigation. The antiquity of the use of this star is attested to by the fact that it is found represented on the earliest known Assyrian tablets.

At present, Polaris is slightly over 1� away from the pole of rotation and hence revolves around the pole in a small circle about 2� in diameter. Only twice during every 24 hours does Polaris accurately define the true north azimuth; the rest of the time it is only an approximation and must be corrected using tables.

Although Shakespeare wrote "I am as constant as the northern star", due to precession of the equinox, other stars in the northern hemisphere have been and will likely again become the north star over thousands of years; Thuban was pole star in the past, and Vega will be in future.

It is easy to find Polaris by following the line traced from Merak to Dubhe (β and α Ursae Majoris), the two stars at the end of the bowl of the Big Dipper. One can also follow the central point of the W shape of Cassiopeia.

Polaris is 431 light years (132 parsecs) from Earth, according to measurements made by the Hipparcos satellite. It is an F7 supergiant (Ib) or bright giant (II), with two smaller companions: an F3 V main sequence star about 2000 AU away and a close companion in an orbit with a 5 AU semi-major axis.

The main star is a Population II cepheid variable, the pulsations of which cause it steadily cycle between 8% brighter than its average luminosity and 8% dimmer (0.15 magnitudes in total) with a 3.97 day period.

There is no real south star. The star, visible to the naked eye, that is closest to the south celestial pole is the dim Sigma Octantis. However, the bright Southern Cross (Crux) points towards the south celestial pole.

For more information please log in to :

http://www.worsleyschool.net/science/files/polaris/thenorthstar.html
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Hang Son Doong: Gua Terbesar dan Terpanjang di Dunia

Sumber Gambar :http://www.dancewithshadows.com/travel/hang-son-doong-photos.asp

SATU ekspedisi pasukan pengkaji gua warga Britain percaya mereka menjumpai laluan gua terbesar di dunia berada di tengah-tengah hutan belantara di Vietnam.Laluan berbatu itu sepanjang 150 meter dan berketinggian 200 meter — tujuh kali tinggi siling kekubah gereja besar di York. Laluan yang dikenali sebagai Gua Hang Son Doong (Gua Gunung Sungai) itu dipercayai mempunyai saiz hampir dua kali ganda gua paling besar yang tersenarai dalam rekod dunia masa kini.

“Gua itu antara penemuan terbesar pasukan pengkaji gua dari Britain dan saiznya benar-benar mengagumkan,” kata seorang anggota ekspedisi yang disertai 13 pengkaji gua itu, Adam Spillane. Dengan menggunakan alat pengukur yang dikenali sebagai LaserRace 300 untuk mengukur tinggi dan lebar gua itu, pasukan terbabit kini kembali ke United Kingdom untuk melakukan analisis.

Gua itu asalnya ditemui seorang lelaki rakyat Vietnam, Ho Khanh yang menghuni kawasan hutan berkenaan pada 1991. Bagaimanapun, Spillane berkata, tiada seorang pun pernah memasukinya kerana ia diselubungi bunyi bising dan deruan angin yang sungguh menakutkan, dipercayai berpunca daripada sungai bawah tanah dalam gua itu.

Sumber Gambar : http://photography.nationalgeographic.com/photography/photo-of-the-day/hang-son-doong-cave-vietnam/

Namun, pasukan pengkaji Britain itu yang dibantu wakil dari Universiti Sains Hanoi menjalankan satu Ekspedisi Kembara Britain-Vietnam pada April 2009 dan mereka menghabiskan lima hari menjelajahi gua itu yang terletak di Taman Negara Phong Nha-Ke Bang. Pasukan itu menghabiskan enam jam merentasi hutan belantara untuk sampai ke gua berkenaan.

Mereka terpaksa mendaki turun ke satu kawah yang luas dan menyeberangi dua sungai bawah tanah sebelum sampai ke laluan masuk utama Gua Hang Son Doong. “Gua itu antara penemuan terbesar pasukan pengkaji gua dari Britain dan saiznya benar-benar mengagumkan,” kata seorang anggota ekspedisi yang disertai 13 pengkaji gua itu, Adam Spillane. Dengan menggunakan alat pengukur yang dikenali sebagai LaserRace 300 untuk mengukur tinggi dan lebar gua itu, pasukan terbabit kini kembali ke United Kingdom untuk melakukan analisis.

Gua itu asalnya ditemui seorang lelaki rakyat Vietnam, Ho Khanh yang menghuni kawasan hutan berkenaan pada 1991. Bagaimanapun, Spillane berkata, tiada seorang pun pernah memasukinya kerana ia diselubungi bunyi bising dan deruan angin yang sungguh menakutkan, dipercayai berpunca daripada sungai bawah tanah dalam gua itu.

Namun, pasukan pengkaji Britain itu yang dibantu wakil dari Universiti Sains Hanoi menjalankan satu Ekspedisi Kembara Britain-Vietnam pada April 2009 dan mereka menghabiskan lima hari menjelajahi gua itu yang terletak di Taman Negara Phong Nha-Ke Bang.

Pasukan itu menghabiskan enam jam merentasi hutan belantara untuk sampai ke gua berkenaan. Mereka terpaksa mendaki turun ke satu kawah yang luas dan menyeberangi dua sungai bawah tanah sebelum sampai ke laluan masuk utama Gua Hang Son Doong. Pasukan itu dijangka kembali lagi ke Vietnam untuk menyelesaikan ekspedisi dan penyelidikan lengkap mengenai gua itu.

“Gua itu sepanjang 6.5 kilometer tetapi penghujung laluan utamanya masih bersambung dengan tembok batu kapur setinggi 45 meter dan ia menghalang pengembaraan kami untuk masuk lebih jauh.“Lebih banyak kajian perlu dilakukan dalam ekspedisi seterusnya bagi membuat penyelidikan lengkap mengenai Gua Hang Son Doong, di samping mendapatkan fotografi penuh di dalamnya.

“Ia benar-benar satu pencapaian terbaik masa kini untuk menemukan dan menjelajahi gua yang cukup hebat,” kata Spillane.

Sumber Artikel : http://www.hmetro.com.my/articles/Guatanpapenghujung/Article/artikelMA
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Strange Buildings of the World

Construction of the building started in in January 2003 and in December 2003 it was finished. House architecture is based on Jan Marcin Szancer (famous Polish artist and child books illustrator) and Per Dahlberg (Swedish painter living in Sopot) pictures and paintings.

Image via: brocha

2. Forest Spiral – Hundertwasser Building (Darmstadt, Germany)

The Hundertwasser house “Waldspirale” (”Forest Spiral”) was built in Darmstadt between 1998 and 2000. Friedensreich Hundertwasser, the famous Austrian architect and painter, is widely renowned for his revolutionary, colourful architectural designs which incorporate irregular, organic forms, e.g. onion-shaped domes.

The structure with 105 apartments wraps around a landscaped courtyard with a running stream. Up in the turret at the southeast corner, there is a restaurant, including a cocktail bar.

Image via: Kikos Dad

3. The Torre Galatea Figueras (Spain)

Image via: manuelfloresv

4. Ferdinand Cheval Palace a.k.a Ideal Palace (France)

Image via: Mélisande*

5. The Basket Building (Ohio, United States)

The Longaberger Basket Company building in Newark, Ohio might just be a strangest office building in the world. The 180,000-square-foot building, a replica of the company’s famous market basket, cost $30 million and took two years to complete. Many experts tried to persuade Dave Longaberger to alter his plans, but he wanted an exact replica of the real thing.

Image via: addicted Eyes

6. Kansas City Public Library (Missouri, United States)

This project, located in the heart of Kansas City, represents one of the pioneer projects behind the revitalization of downtown.

The people of Kansas City were asked to help pick highly influential books that represent Kansas City. Those titles were included as ‘bookbindings’ in the innovative design of the parking garage exterior, to inspire people to utilize the downtown Central Library.

Image via: jonathan_moreau

7. Wonderworks (Pigeon Forge, TN, United States)

8. Habitat 67 (Montreal, Canada)

Expo 67, one of the world’s largest universal expositions was held in Montreal. Housing was one of the main themes of Expo 67.

The cube is the base, the mean and the finality of Habitat 67. In its material sense, the cube is a symbol of stability. As for its mystic meaning, the cube is symbol of wisdom, truth, moral perfection, at the origin itself of our civilization.

354 cubes of a magnificent grey-beige build up one on the other to form 146 residences nestled between sky and earth, between city and river, between greenery and light.

Image via: ken ratcliff

9. Cubic Houses (Rotterdam, Netherlands)

The original idea of these cubic houses came about in the 1970s. Piet Blom has developed a couple of these cubic houses that were built in Helmond.

The city of Rotterdam asked him to design housing on top of a pedestrian bridge and he decided to use the cubic houses idea. The concept behind these houses is that he tries to create a forest by each cube representing an abstract tree; therefore the whole village becomes a forest.

Image via: vpzone

10. Hang Nga Guesthouse a.k.a Crazy House (Vietnam)

The house is owned by the daughter of the ex-president of Vietnam, who studied architecture in Moscow.

It does not comply with any convention about house building, has unexpected twists and turns, roofs and rooms. It looks like a fairy tale castle, it has enormous “animals” like a giraffe and a spider, no window is rectangular or round, and it can be visited like a museum.

credit to : http://villageofjoy.com/50-strange-buildings-of-the-world/
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From Romantic Sail to Night of Terror : 2

Morgan, meanwhile, swam away from the barge and, astonishingly, got out of its way. After the hulking vessel passed her, she began a frenzied crawl stroke, knowing that in the darkness, another ship could run her down.

But the waves kept coming at her. She tried diving underneath them, establishing a ragged rhythm: pop up to the surface and gulp air, swim three or four strokes, then dive again. Halfway across the channel, her arms burned, her legs dragged, and her heart hammered so hard in her chest that she gasped for air.

Stopping to tread water, she felt fear gnawing at her. She thought of her sisters. Christina, 18, had come to live with her at age 12. Morgan had made her breakfast, helped her with homework, cheered her on at soccer games, and tucked her in at night. She'd done the same for Megan, now 17. They're too young for me to die, she thought. They need me.

On the other side of the channel, Morgan spotted the lighthouse off Gibson Island. Thinking there might be a ladder to hang on to, she headed toward it, alternately paddling and swimming on her back. But when she floated up to it, she almost cried. The iron sides offered no handholds-the ladder was set high above the water to deter vandals.

In the distance, she could see lights, brighter now, along the shore. She pushed off and headed for them. Please don't go out, she prayed.

At 9:25 p.m., about an hour after Morgan had jumped into the water, the 911 dispatcher notified the Anne Arundel County Fire Department of a woman overboard. The county in turn alerted the Coast Guard, the Maryland Natural Resources Police, and the Annapolis Fire Department. The four agencies prepared to send rescue vessels to Fraizzoli's sailboat, while county fire officials set up a command unit on the ground at nearby Gibson Island to coordinate the search.

Greg Young, an Annapolis firefighter, had just finished dinner when the alarm beeped twice. Within ten minutes, he and two other firefighters were motoring out of the harbor on Fireboat 35, a 40-foot cruiser with a sweeper spotlight on the roof.

Young, 29, a seven-year fire department veteran and the boat's pilot, was not optimistic. He and the other crew members—Philip Morris and Michael Lonergan—had been out on dozens of man-overboard calls. They knew it would be almost impossible to locate a bobbing head in that vast darkness, especially with a heavy chop on the water. In fact, none of them could remember an overboard call that had resulted in a live rescue. Either they were false alarms or the bodies were found days or weeks later.

By 10 p.m., Fireboat 35 and three other rescue boats were nearing Fraizzoli's sloop. A police officer boarded the boat and questioned Fraizzoli, then asked to see Morgan's driver's license. "She's beautiful," the officer said to him. Fraizzoli, who had stayed calm during the interview, broke down. "You're right," he sobbed. Tricia is more than a girlfriend, he thought. She's more like my wife. And now she was gone.

Fraizzoli described to the rescue crews the last place he thought he'd seen Morgan. Young began a grid search aboard Fireboat 35. He and his crew assumed Morgan had attempted to swim toward shore, so Young steered the boat slowly back and forth along the two-mile-wide strip of water between the shipping lane and Gibson Island, stopping every few minutes to look and listen.

On the rolling deck of the fireboat, Lonergan, 24, and Morris, 29, scanned the waves with a handheld spotlight. A half hour passed. Nothing. The water temperature was a survivable 60-plus degrees, but the relentless pounding of the waves was sure to exhaust even an experienced swimmer. Morgan would have been in the water for nearly two hours by now.

"Fireboat 61, can you come in and pick up personnel and equipment?" came a voice on the marine radio. The men knew what that meant: Fire officials were preparing to switch the mission from a rescue to a body retrieval. A side-scan sonar, which allows emergency personnel to search for drowning victims in deep water, would be loaded onto one of the fireboats. The county dive team, wearing wet suits, stood on a nearby pier, ready to join the search. On Fireboat 35, the radio grew quiet, the slapping of waves making the only sound. Suddenly Morris shouted, “I think I heard somebody scream.” Young stopped the engines. Everybody listened.

Standing on the bow of the boat, Lonergan and Morris looked at each other, stunned. Did you hear that? Young opened the doors and windows to the cabin. The three men strained to hear.
Another faint sound.

Morgan had seen the boat's searchlight and yelled. But her strength was failing. They can't see me, she thought.
Young restarted the motor and inched the cruiser toward the voice. Go slowly, he told himself, trying to calm his adrenaline rush. He didn't want to pass her by or, worse, hit her.

Lonergan grabbed a boat hook and a life jacket. He and Morris gripped the rail, straining to hear. The light atop the boat swept the waves. Inside the cabin, Young shut down the motor twice more so the men could listen. Morgan's voice grew louder. "It sent a chill up your back to hear it," Morris says. "She was screaming for her life."

Finally, the spotlight shone on Morgan's head. The men shouted, and Lonergan held out the boat hook so Morgan could reach the life jacket he had hung from it. She grabbed at it but missed. Then Young slid the boat sideways and Morris lay down on his stomach, his heart beating against the wet deck. If he had to, he, or one of the other men, would jump in after her. They had each practiced the water rescue drill dozens of times.

While Morris leaned out over the water, Lonergan held his legs. Morgan summoned a final bit of strength and paddled toward the boat. Morris dropped her a life ring, then reached toward her and grabbed her arm. "Don't let go!" she yelled.
"We've got you!" Morris shouted.

Morgan held the life ring with one hand and Morris's arm with the other. Within seconds, the three men were able to maneuver her along the side of the boat to the swim platform at the stern. Reaching under her arms, Morris and Lonergan hauled her on board, where she collapsed.

Emergency officials throughout the area were stunned, calling it a one-in-a-million rescue. Taken by ambulance to a nearby hospital, Morgan was treated for dehydration and exhaustion and released after a few hours.

At a ceremony honoring her rescuers about a month later, she expressed her gratitude to everyone who had helped save her, including her sisters. She'd thought of them when she felt she couldn't go on, worrying about getting Christina into college and Megan through high school.
As for Fraizzoli, Morgan had had a few thoughts about him too. "I was thinking if Carlo hadn't waited to put the motor on and the sails down, I wouldn't be in this position," she said ruefully. In fact, he'd helped fuel her determined progress through the water that night. "Every time I stroked with my right arm, I thought, If I make it through, he's selling that damn boat.” With the left arm: “He's going to marry me."

Fraizzoli and Morgan did marry, two months after her rescue, at the Baltimore city courthouse. Surrounded by a small group of relatives and friends, Fraizzoli gazed at Morgan, who wore a white strapless dress and clutched a bouquet of white roses. He credits the near tragedy for bringing the two of them closer. "I realized I didn't want to lose her again," Fraizzoli says. "I wanted to stay together forever."
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From Romantic Sail to Night of Terror : 1

Aboard her boyfriend's sailboat, Patricia Morgan curled up with a book and started to relax. She and Carlo Fraizzoli had had a hectic week in Baltimore. But now, heading for a scenic cove 25 miles south on the Magothy River, the couple enjoyed the idyllic June evening as they sailed across the Chesapeake Bay, leaving the city's sweltering heat behind them.

"I'm glad there's no one out here to hear you," Morgan, 26, teased Fraizzoli, 32, who sat next to the tiller practicing "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star" on his harmonica.

She glanced up from her book a few minutes later and saw that clouds to the north had darkened the skies over the city. “Did you see that?” she asked as two lightning bolts crackled behind the boat. "Carlo, can we put the motor on and head to shore?” He tried to reassure her, but she persisted: “You don't know how fast these storms come up on the bay!"Within seconds, the sunlit sky above them had turned dark. Whitecaps sprang up on the water, and sheets of rain began to batter the boat. Fraizzoli hurried to release the jib as Morgan jumped up to get a life jacket from the cabin. Before she could grab one, a powerful gust slammed into the boat, tilting the sloop onto its side and sending the mainsail into the water. As the boat tipped, Morgan lost her balance and tumbled onto the rail. Looking facedown into the waves and fearing the boat was capsizing, she made a split-second decision—"I'll be safer in the water" and jumped into the bay.

As Morgan floundered in the waves, Fraizzoli righted the boat. "Swim to me!" he yelled to Morgan, throwing her a life preserver. It slipped through her hands as the current began to pull the boat away from her. Fraizzoli started the motor and steered the boat toward the sound of her voice, tossing her the jib line. She missed it, and the motor stalled. Gulping air between the six-foot waves, Morgan watched the powerless boat drift away and out of sight. It was after 9 p.m., and the sea and sky were black.

Patricia Morgan was a fighter. Her father left home when she was young. Her mother was a drug addict, leaving Morgan to raise herself and her two younger sisters with the help of her maternal grandmother.

She started work as a waitress at 14. By 18, she held two jobs and was renting a townhouse near Baltimore for herself and her sisters. Two years ago, working as a patient service coordinator at a pulmonary clinic, Morgan brought her mother home and helped her through drug rehab and breast cancer treatment.

As she struggled in the water, Morgan decided that if she could overcome everything else, she would triumph in this situation too. But she wasn't a strong swimmer and wasn't wearing a life jacket. Don't panic, she told herself. Pace yourself, and don't get water in your lungs. She started swimming toward dim lights on the shore, about two miles away. Then, directly ahead of her, she saw an enormous looming shape: a 200-foot barge, being towed by a tugboat. She'd been pulled into the middle of a shipping channel.

The Chesapeake Bay, stretching 200 miles from Virginia Beach into Maryland, is a summer playground for more than 15 million people. It's also a busy commercial waterway where deep-sea freighters, some the length of two football fields, move up and down 24 hours a day. Even in daylight, freighter pilots have trouble slowing down or changing course to avoid obstacles in their paths. At night, the obstacles are impossible to see.

From the sailboat, Fraizzoli saw the barge too. It's going to run her over, he thought. I've lost her. Just about everything that could've gone wrong did: The mainsail was in tatters, shredded by the repeated pounding of 60 mph winds. The docking line had fallen off the bow and was now wrapped around the propeller of the outboard motor, jamming it. Fraizzoli had left his ship-to-shore radio, which could have been used to summon rescuers, at home in Baltimore. Helpless and sobbing, he was certain Morgan was dead.

A native of Italy, Fraizzoli had loved sailing since he was a boy. With a degree in accounting and commercial law, he came to America in 2006 and got a job with a shipping company. He immediately signed up with a Baltimore-area sailing school, taking lessons once a week for the next year and a half and joining a racing team. Eventually, he bought a 38-year-old sloop, repainted and rewired it, and proudly flew the red-and-yellow Venetian flag on its stern.

Fraizzoli cursed himself for forgetting the radio. Suddenly, he remembered Morgan's cell phone and dug for it in her purse. With shaking fingers, he punched in 911. Fraizzoli was unsure of his location, so the dispatcher told him to call back: Rescuers would determine the coordinates of the boat by tracking the cell phone signal.
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